The Dead Weather is the best rock band in America right now, and while founder Jack White already lives a comfortable life as one of limited modern day musical geniuses, this band should be bigger than they are. Their first outing Horehound definitely had some of the greatest cuts in rock from the recent decade that's ended ("Treat Me Like Your Mother"--fantastic). The fearlessly titled Sea of Cowards is honorable and true to the rock and roll magnetism of the 1970s ("Blue Blood Blues", "Gasoline"), accented with the adroit confidence expected of today's most talented of bands (heard expertly on "I'm Mad"). Their influences are clear without superfluous cheesy odes to the iconic albums that helped to shape Sea of Cowards from the inside out so many years later.
As the growling lead vocalist (and fellow guitarist) of The Dead Weather, to say that Allison Mosshart is indeed the heart of the band's greatness would be an understatement. She doesn't add a feminine touch to the band, she adds an enigmatic, eminent quality to the lyrics she sings that go hand in hand with her Leigh Lezark "Princess Coldstare" demeanor that is more fascinating than alienating. Mosshart and White are great together, and just like her (terrific) work with James Hince of The Kills, she always sounds in defiance towards the voice of her male counterpart--but like Hince, White welcomes the challenge. She continues to be the rock patron goddess of music in 2010.
Unlike Horehound, Sea of Cowards is seemingly less constructed which in return makes way for their sophomore album to have a more fluid connection from one song to the next than the debut. Interestingly, each individual's dexterity, including Dean Fertita (of Queens of the Stone Age) and Jack Lawrence (of The Raconteurs) is grandly spotlighted on Cowards, as especially showcased on "Hustle and Cuss".
The Difference Between Us" is brilliant with its "I'm not the way that you found me" tranquil beginnings, and "Die by the Drop" (the first single) is furiously more defining than whiny as classic rock should be. It is the most boss record on the album. "I Can't Hear You" is snarky, with a puzzling, muffled Mosshart who sounds more fed up and submissive than authoritative which is a noticeable change from a majority of the band's past and present discography.
It is a wonder on the album exactly which cowards the band used as inspiration, as the music reveals their stoic sympathy that is more easily expressed through their impulsive nature as storytellers. The most salient feature of Cowards is that maintained in every song are certain words or sentences that White and Mosshart repeat, and not just for melody purposes, but for sending a message of the overall theme of all eleven tracks essentially being karma.
The finale continues the motif in the particularly obtrusive "Old Mary" with its repeated lyrics of "now on to the moment of your last breath" against a highly ominous beat. If this album was released back in 1971, ol' "Mary" could have been the background music for the aberrant tunnel scene of the four criminals in the film adaptation of A Clockwork Orange.
Sea of Cowards is not as angry as Horehound, but is instead slyer in its presentation of confrontation. The Dead Weather are sincere to making rock music that is both shrewd and lively. "I wanna leave a trace" are the second best of the album's effective lyrics, from "Blue Blood Blues", and the band certainly will, as they've created (already) the rock album of the year. Sea of Cowards is nary of shortcomings.
THE BEST: "Blue Blood Blues", "The Differences Between Us", "Die By the Drop", "I Can't Hear You", "Jawbreaker", "Old Mary"
ALBUM REVIEW by Shardae Jobson (released on May 11, 2010 in the U.S.)
Sleigh Bells are a duo completely under the radar, yet their debut album Treats received much praise from music critics, including the always austere elitists Pitchfork Media. They're on a joint contract with M.I.A.'s N.E.E.T. Recordings which is not only pretty supreme in their range of connections, will also guarantee them more attention than the average independent artists, as they've also performed at SXWS and CMJ music festivals. Treats is utterly overwrought in its lofty level of sound, but is very representative of what today's music will be remembered for, making the record likable enough--if you're into soundtracks for an ADD generation.
Bells first official single "Tell 'Em" is incredibly infectious and slightly '80s arena pop rock, and it hypnotizes the listener even as you can barely comprehend a sentence Alexis Krauss is saying. The thrusts of guitar riffs by Derek Miller are transformed into sonic lasers, giving the track an urgency that lets future fans in the know that more anxiety is on the way, and we're thankful for the warning because Treats does not quit until its very last note.
It's hard to define Sleigh Bells as anything other known than straight up noise (maybe "post dance-punk", but this specific noise has an odd artistic touch to it that enables Treats to be considered somewhat stimulating. The music take the approach of cut and paste craft and recreates into something of their own at its most original finest. At times, the music seems to only make sense to Krauss and Miller, but its hard to cover your ears because you find yourself wildly charmed by their boisterous behavior.
"Run the Heart" was made for imagined galaxy adventures with the soothing but knowingly flirtatious voice of Krauss, and is a love story in disguise, that has a part two continued in "Rachel". "Rill Rill" is the one song that is the most unlike the rest, with a country music resonance and is nice break from the brash tunes, but Bells don't stray for long. "Crown on the Ground" takes the award for being the most obnoxiously hurtful to the ears, and Krauss' lovely inflections are again a bit passed over by the beats. "Kids" teases with its moments of resistance, going back and forth against thick bounces and clattering shrills.
The album is only 32 minutes, and throughout their record, Sleigh Bells bring to mind another rowdy duo of cacophonous proportions, Crystal Castles. The major discrepancy that keeps Bells from being a facsimile is that they're surprisingly stalwart, while Castles is unforgivably melodic, though both duos trade off from song to song on their respective works.
Treats was adored by critics because Sleigh Bells didn't act on being loud just to be musically pseudo shocking, or to thrive as irritable young things just looking to create a raucous. They've made an interesting record that sparks effortlessly through speakers like a kaleidoscope of sound waves which is an accomplishment considering its mostly patterns of colossal distortions. You want some bleeding ears within seconds of pushing play in the name of music? You asked for it.
THE BEST: "Tell 'Em", "Kids", "Riot Rhythm", "Run the Heart", "A/B Machines", "Treats"
mash up that was old Hollywood vicariously lived through new millennium young women in entertainment, Christina Aguilera declared with the release of the song "Keeps Gettin' Better" that her next record would be "futuristic", which is a term that seems almost vague and unnecessary in the late 2000s. Visually the video for 2008's "Keeps Gettin' Better" was promising towards her new venture, yet when "Not Myself Tonight" came out as the first single for Bionic, it didn't sound futuristic, genre-bending, eclectic, or whatever else Aguilera was aiming for. It sounded like just another tune of the current splash of dance music with a heavy base of electro-clash sounds, polished to the core for a mainstream audience (which David Guetta is the king of doing right now). The video was nothing to brag about, and so immediately there was skepticism for Bionic, yet enough curiosity left to see if her pop art aspirations were saved for the other tracks.
Well, on the rest of the seventeen tracks on the album, nothing else really seems to sound as planned, and on first listen, is actually kind of disappointing. It's one of few records released this year to bring a lot of noise in anticipation, but many repeats needed to enjoy what is being heard. The second single "Woohoo" featuring the adorably inane Nicki Minaj is a cut straight off of Stripped, and is one of the better songs with a terrific uppity movement to its ferocity of overt female sexuality. Its aggressive nature might be condemned and made fun of in the public because that's just what people do when a woman waves her flag of essentially exclaiming loving sex, which Aguilera has been an advocate for since her videos became more and more titillating.
Minaj was a perfect match for "Woohoo",and her verse was viewed as being "[pseudo] patois" by New York Magazine, but it is very amusing and equally deserving of attention next to Aguilera's brassy intentions. It's nice to see that Xtina is always in support of the female rapper on her more pop/dance recordings (like with "Can't Hold Us Down" featuring Lil' Kim). True Aguilera fans will likely enjoy "Woohoo" a lot, as references to cake haven't been memorable since 50 Cent.
Still, Bionic is all together a hot mess because Aguilera collaborates with too many different artists in order to achieve the new sound she was craving to experiment with. She worked with quite a few notable names, but they all otherwise crash on the same full length album. What Aguilera should have done was stick to one or two collaborators out of her usual circle, and from there go on to create a more cohesive concoction. There's Peaches, Le Tigre, Linda Perry, Tricky, Lil Jon, Santigold, M.I.A., Polow Da Don, Ladytron, Sia...no wonder the album is slightly hard to get into. These artists already have such a unique appeal (their purpose for being recruited in the first place) it also comes across odd when Aguilera's voice is singing the lyrics (that while she helped co-write) they contributed greatly to because it's just too much of their own input, and not enough of Xtina's characteristics. You'd think it might as well be the other artist providing the vocals (like on "Elastic Love").
Now, on to the songs that actually made the wait back to her more obvious dirrty girl self worthwhile (since Back to Basics). The best song hands down is the last track "Vanity", an ode to loving oneself and not giving a damn if you come across beyond conceited. It's undeniably sassy, and even carries a unexpected hilarity, embodying what Aguilera's return is all about (and what "Not Myself Tonight" wish it was). It shows that Aguilera can really be a lot of fun too because she often strives to be a provocateur and her images and statements in doing so at times go overboard in annoyance (much like her peers)--she gets it right on "Vanity" when she sings in a confident but cooing tone: "Mirror, mirror, on the wall...who's the flyest bitch of them all...NEVERMIND I AM". The song is strangely the most uplifting record because Aguilera is arguably one of the most cocky of singers in the past decade--and with good reason with a voice like hers. We can't help but agree with her mirror, and she pushes us to eventually nod heads to ours too.
The song "My Girls" with Peaches is convincingly good, and "Prima Donna" is a hard-thumping jam that shall be sung at the top of the Hollywood Hills in a pair of the most glittery of Brian Atwoods. "Glam" was described as a "modern day 'Vogue'" and while is cute and jazz-y, is not at all groundbreaking in meshing beauty, fashion and dance in comparison to the original. Yet, it's 1920s vibe is strangely more authentic sounding than particular songs on Back to Basics that attempted the same kind of vintage feel.
Unfortunately, while Aguilera's forte is usually the ballads, it is the slower songs on Bionic like "Lift Me Up" and "You Lost Me" that are almost complete doozies because they get lost amongst all the attempted eccentricity surrounding it. They aren't careless songs because "I Am" is actually quite beautiful in its simplicity and Aguilera is much more experimental here than on the crazier tracks due to its Regina Spektor influence; but is hard to appreciate when you know Aguilera was trying to get her Warhol/Madonna circa "Express Yourself"/Roisin Murphy on.
Bionic is all together not the great album fans were hoping for, but the simple fact that Aguilera is the vocalist of her generation, and always will be, at least what's returned is a voice that still gives a shiver of excitement and admiration back into the media. Aguilera has the ability to make great music, and has done before, but Bionic misses the point more than it retrieves it. In the end, it all becomes too polarizing to matter...but we'll just keep "Vanity" on repeat, if you don't mind.
THE BEST: "Vanity", "Woohoo", "Elastic Love","Prima Donna", "I Am", "My Girls"
As the fourth full-length album of original material under the name Hole, Courtney Love remains as the only founding member in the group, as while Nobody's Daughter contains some decent tracks worthy of her comeback in the field that made her one of the most polemic figures in music history; it's taken quite a while to get us to hear her officially declare emancipation of personal and professional tribulations.
For any real fan of Hole's music throughout the years, the return of Love (musically) is one that will again titillate, once they push play on Nobody's Daughter, they'll also find themselves wishing that Melissa Auf der Maur would come back as the band's greatest replacement member, and Eric Erlandson, the quieter founding member of the band--though nonetheless sonically vital--would've returned and help create the kind of material that made Hole an underrated band of the '90s that always delivered landmark albums in rock music.
This latest record in the Hole discography, after the laudable gritty realism of Live Through This and glittery coolness that was Celebrity Skin (a fantastic follow up in which it's only main difference to the former was a more refined finish), Nobody’s Daughter is a slight mixture of both, but doesn’t really find its footing as another spectrum of the band’s progress. As a whole, it kind of just feels like a record of songs with no theme to each other. From first listen, you'll probably like it immediately, but you’ll only get to loving it with future listens after random decisions to give another chance one day.
Courtney’s voice sounds like it’s been through more hell on Nobody's Daughter than it did on Live Through This, but what she didn’t have in 1994 that she does in 2010 is a kind of resilience and acceptance in that she is the mess she proclaims, but she can still play the guitar. In 1994, she was searching for meaning as an emotionally discombobulated young widow—with a potty mouth. In 1998, she was a reborn glamour puss--with a potty mouth. In 2010, her feelings are up for grabs in the song “For Once in My Life”, just as she intended with the many outbursts of over-shared personal details of her life that seemed to come out the woodwork non-intermittently. Among her many publicized issues (especially when she released her iffy solo album America's Sweetheart, and a she recently referred to as "the Letterman years), it was a wonder if she would be able to rise again as a musician. It is evident she's still got it, but the weary of her woes has taken a toll as the luster she had as such a infamously eccentric figure seems to have rusted a bit. The album has some highlights of the old Courtney, and so reassuredly, yes, she was and always will be a ragamuffin talent.
The song "Pacific Coast Highway" positively gleams of “Malibu” from Celebrity Skin with a more stripped, acoustic sound, and bounces off what was left of the song before it,“Honey”, almost like an expansive look into the previous. "Letter to God" might as well be titled "Letter to Frances" in regards to her current torn relationship with her only child, and the first single (with no music video) "Skinny Little Bitch" is a classic loud, post-modern rock song for Hole but doesn't match their previous work. It's the kind of song that sounds better live, which is not exactly a bad thing. The last track, "Never Go Hungry" has got to be inspired by the character Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind when in the scene she swears on her life "she'll never go hungry again". In Courtney's world and in this time of her storied life, she'll never hit rock bottom (once more) again.
Nobody's Daughter wins when it stays along a sedate sound and perturbed lyrics of love and life gone wrong, such as the lucidly brash (bridge) lyrics of "People like you, fuck people like me" on the excellent "Samantha". The harder songs like "Loser Dust" are good, but sound a bit forced and just aren't the same without the chemistry she had with Erlandson and someone as swift as Auf der Maur who is like the Lita Ford of today's music.
With virtually new, unknown members in Hole, Courtney Love is more center stage than ever in the band, and has become a kind of Patti Smith rock icon in the microcosm of female rock stars. Yet, unlike Smith, Love yearns to be in the spotlight and be recognized as a student and purveyor of the music she creates. Love is still one of the most sincere artists in the genre. Her feminine growls have a twinge of ache in them now, but she's not going anywhere. At this point, she has nothing to lose, because she belongs to no one. The album as a whole doesn't really have a direction, but considering the facts, it's not so bad, and her vengeance is more melancholic and subservient than expected. You'll be alright, Ms. Love.
THE BEST: "Samantha", "Pacific Coast Highway", "Honey"
VIDEO: Hole performing "Violet" in 1995, and "Celebrity Skin" in 1998, (both) at the MTV Video Music Awards
In honor of this past Saturday's Record Store Day and the Boston Marathon (good luck all you abominatedly good at running people!), below is a extended list of the most accomplished full-length albums of the past decade. A lot of these lists, chronicling the best of the best in singles and albums were released during the first half of last year, and often clogged their lists with songs and artists based on overt popularity than both popularity and cultural relevance, but these lists are nothing more than opinion. It's not really and shouldn't be about what was blasted through everyone's speakers and what wasn't. The music chosen are the ones that years from now will sound as fantastic as the first time your ear drums understood what heaven was in their version of audible wasteland. Some may to quick to say that music sucks nowadays, but some us choose to still believe.
So here's to the short list of albums full of unequivocal paeans for days to come in our already complicated lives. Maybe you'll "re-discover" an album you hadn't given a chance, or realize you weren't the only one you thought that album was worth every blood, sweat, and tears it took to make it. Yes, a majority of the list is from "mainstream" acts, but don't let that sway you, there's a little something here for everyone. You may even see an album that you listened to endlessly back in high school, and there's nothing like those albums that were there for you during the hard times and the good days. No paragraph reasoning underneath each listed album; once you hear them (if you haven't already), they'll certainly sing or beat-box for themselves. Let it be, my friends, let it be.
"I've got my 45 on so I...can rock on..." -"Soak Up the Sun" by Sheryl Crow
Some of the albums that mattered most from 2000-2009 (otherwise known as The Aughts)
She Wolf by Shakira
Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple
Stankonia by OutKast
La Roux by La Roux
Ultraviolet by Kid Sister
Come Home With Me by Cam'ron
Rock Steady by No Doubt
Gold Medal by The Donnas
Crystal Castles by Crystal Castles
Get Rich or Die Tryin' by 50 Cent
In Rainbows by Radiohead
Bleed Like Me by Garbage
Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel by Mariah Carey
The College Graduate by Kanye West
The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem
Rated R by Rihanna
Toxicity by System of a Down
Music by Madonna
White Blood Cells by The White Stripes
Elan Vital by Pretty Girls Make Graves
Funeral by The Arcade Fire
The Information by Beck
Stories from the City, Stories From the Sea by PJ Harvey
Whoa, Nelly! by Nelly Furtado
Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape by Me'shell Ndegeocello
Blackout by Britney Spears
Fallen by Evanescence
Midnight Boom by The Kills
X by Kylie Minogue
Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park
The Woods by Sleater-Kinney
Change It All by Goapele
In Search Of... by N.E.R.D.
Food & Liquor by Lupe Fiasco
Rooty by Basement Jaxx
Intimacy by Bloc Party
Afrodiasic by Brandy
A Fever You Can't Sweat Out by Panic! At the Disco
Annimal by Annie
Robyn by Robyn
BLACKsummer's night by Maxwell
It's Not You, It's Me by Lily Allen
Kala by M.I.A.
Back to Black by Amy Winehouse
Fever to Tell by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Under the Blacklight by Rilo Kiley
Two Suns by Bat for Lashes
We Are The Pipettes by The Pipettes
Cross by Justice
Hell Hath No Fury by The Clipse
New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War by Erykah Badu
Clap Your Hands and Say..."Congratulations" to MGMT
reviewed by Shardae Jobson
The sophomore album Congratulations from MGMT is inexplicably loud, clunky and uber confident; almost nothing like the laid-back and congenial feel of their massively adored debut Oracular Spectacular. The most recognizable influence is the sound of the late ‘60s which immediately introduces itself from the first track, “It’s Working”. A majority of the songs sounds like the kind of music the Beach Boys would've create in 2010, like the way some reviewers saw the work of Gnarls Barkley’s St. Elsewhere as the voice of Marvin Gaye in a different time and technology. Many renown publications praised the album, as it looks like MGMT have now entered the immune music club of bands including Coldplay, U2, Radiohead, and anything Jack White does, in that no matter if the (last) album wasn’t up to par, it’s still one of the best of the year its released. MGMT is on its way to such a status.
The major difference between Congratulations and Oracular Spectacular is the overall sentiment. Even the titles alone suggest a metamorphosis of being comfortably peculiar to becoming a more stylized avant-garde act. There is a chaotic spiritually that is greatly executed on the second album, instead of the more linear, melancholy bliss of Spectacular. The songs are indeed great and adventurous, definitely a bit more artistic as without a doubt, MGMT were trying different ways of singing along against a myriad of high charging go-go beats and reverbs. Interestingy, though there is something about the songs on their debut that in a few years to come, will be a part of the new classics in music like the beautifully sensual "Electric Feel" that has yet to lose its sonic luster; but it’s not to say that Congratulations disappoints. The thing with debuts is that because new artists at that point have nothing to prove quite yet, they have no idea where their work might lead them, which is the genius of debuts in general, and explains the comforting, timeless element of Oracular Spectacular.
On the track listing of nine songs, some of them based on first listening, will matter eventually with enough time passed. “Flash Delirium” is the first single, and along with “Someone’s Missing” sound the most like the first album, but still distinct in its strong choir affect, suggesting that maybe during the progress of this clearly extensively made record, they made a pit stop at a local church somewhere. Sweet. "I Found a Whistle” is ridiculously serene, and is the pinnacle of the album, as the band seems to be more at ease in this song, like it was recorded in one session and they left the song as is. It is the high point because of its calm post-Psychedelic (the most overused word in describing anything about this band) impression that is also non-disenchanting.
While "It's Working" is the archetype for MGMT's expansion into the land of sanguine and stubborn hippie-dom, "Siberian Breaks" is a two in one song at the classic epic length of twelve minutes and some seconds. The singing sounds nothing like MGMT's sublime whiny, and is actually a bit of blue-eyed soul. The track is very hypnotic and it somewhat continues without you completely noticing, but you catch on that the band was attempting some Zeppelin esque tune for the nostalgia rock set, as they again experimented with on the purely instrumental "Lady Dada's Nightmare" (yes, that is a quip on Ms. "Paparazzi", but no commentary for you to chew upon).
MGMT purposedly did not create anything that would be akin to some of their most celebrated songs like "Time to Pretend" or "Kids" (the latter song they omitted from their Coachella Music Festival performance, and is borderline ominous to do). It can be appreciated that the Brooklyn duo was overtly conscious of their previous work and sought to make the kind of music that essentially sound like MGMT maturing for the best, it's just that possibly fans and critics alike didn't expect them to sound so self-assuring so soon, but then again, that is also pretty common on the material of second albums. The sophomore project is the coming out party in terms of what you think you should be reprimanded and praised for; somehow trying to encourage the public to look at you once again with brand new eyes.
Congratulations isn't an arrogant record, but is presumptuous; even the artwork is super cumbersome with a tasmanian looking cartoon going nuts. This second album of theirs will likely be on every other best of list for 2010, and is one of the most provocative sophomore albums in years for its deliberate distance from the debut. What is missing most on is the punch of the lyrics, and they are bit muffled beats. The lyrics though, when audible, are similar to Spectacular in that the words are looking for you to explain it all to them while at the same time, planning to move ahead with or without your approval. The major difference is that on the aforementioned tracks two years ago, they were self-serving lyrics for a quarter-life crisis generation. MGMT are still figuring many complicated things out as displayed, but it sounds like they rather be on their own this time for their journey, and are just sharing their frustrations, not venting tehm politely like on "Time to Pretend".
In a recent BlackBook magazine interview, their co-producer Peter Kember revealed that, "They appear to be laissez-faire about things, but they care deeply. I can promise you that. They will tell you until they’re blue in the face that they don’t care about how the album is received, but I know for a fact they do.” The duo does sings on the last title track, "I can't see what's really there . And all I need's a great big congratulations. I'll keep your dreams, you pay attention for me. As strange as it seems. I'd rather dissolve than have you ignore me", which if anything reminds us that the title is ironic because they'll give themselves the shining stars first, but if you find yourself also enjoying what they've done, but all means...everyone loves a compliment...they're just beating you to it just in case. You did good, MGMT.
VIDEO: Janelle Monae's new single and video, "Tightrope" featuring Big Boi of OutKast
The official lineup of the annual music festival Lollapalooza was released today, and while a few months ago, there were hints and little confirmation of certain bands planned attendance at Chicago's Grant Park this year, the list of 100+ names showed that the festival for the most part was sticking to showcase of the crème de la crème in alternative, neo-soul, "rock", and party or conscious rap, but there was one name that met some classic love it or hate it reactions, and it was: Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga as a headliner at Lollapalooza is definitely odd. Though one of her first performances in a very publicly known space was at the festival back in 2007, her music and look did not yet convey the status of a mega pop superstar who three years later has surprisingly won over more people than those who loathe her. Yet for those people who see Gaga as the savior of pop music (as fans and even some critics have heralded her to represent) the latter prefer to view her as a manufactured loony.
Gaga in the past year and a half or so has morphed from a futuristic, club kid baby doll, to "Candy" Warhol, and now a female Ziggy Stardust. Those who have no desire to become one of her minions, a.k.a. little monsters, see the artist as just another pop diva whose costumes and antics belong in a crazy circus. They view her music as no different, but standard to her full scale competitors in pop music. She gets away with it all because she is not conventionally beautiful, and her approach is campier than ultra vixen.
Sure, Gaga's whole "fame is here to love you" shtick can be a little stomach turning, but what these anti-fans fail to see or at least admit, is that Gaga is what the music industry needs. She uses sexuality, fashion, visuals and even some of her lyrics in a more idiosyncratic and seemingly less perfect presentation, which is a hell of a lot more intriguing than what a majority of her sudden peers are doing right now. She is artistically capricious and thoroughly entertaining. While her quick conversations with the audience at her concerts do come across a bit rehearsed (or maniacal), in interviews she’s open, knows her (music) history, and is definitely not a dummy—which is incredibly refreshing.
The fans, the little monsters, came in droves because finally in the last five years of the last decade, a singer was turning herself into a kind of visionary, and this is one vortex we're all curious and secretly wanting to be sucked into. She's a loony, but the most terrific loony we've seen this side of Bjork at The Academy Awards. Gaga's rising profile has provided music analysts to again take a star who has already come to define the time period of her success and (now) tear her apart as to why and how this came about when probably all the star wanted was to be seen and heard in the first place.
Ms. Stefani Germonotta at one point was just like MGMT and Spoon. She was known enough that she had fans, released records to likable reviews and was a fairly new artist that MTV and The Grammys wouldn't care about until she blew up; but this was okay because the music spoke for itself and the fans that showed up did because they liked what they heard, not what sudden groupies of always searching for the next big thing and couldn't think for themselves tend to do, which is always the case once these artists reach international prestige. As the saying goes, they follow like white on rice. When The Fame was released in October 2008, Gaga wasn't an artist so green she couldn't cultivate a persona, but she was fun, and her hair bow ties were a riot. Her first Fame Ball Tour sold out immediately, and was full of the original monsters who worshipped her absolute weird-ness.
As the pro muffin bluffin' anthem "Poker Face" unexpectedly took off, everybody was suddenly eating her shit. The girl from New York City was now the living martyr of pop music, who rapaciously used theatrical visuals in the name of pure entertainment. Later in 2009 and early '10, her music video premieres would recall the days of MJ's, and whether you care about that or not, that is a big deal in her field of career.
Perry Farrell, the creator of Lollapalooza, for better or worse, by adding Gaga to the list of performers is making it very clear, he doesn't believe he is and still yearns to be relevant in popular culture and (aspects of) mainstream music today. He knows that by adding Ms. "Paparazzi" to the list, that alone conjure much media press, and in return too many teenagers at whatever date and time she'll be ready to set musical fire on that very large stage in Grant Park.
Perry Farrell is giving in to the consumers who matters most: the eighteen and under crew. Granted, what teenager has $215 to burn for three-day pass unless it's given to them by some guardian, who knows, but they'll want to show up more than ever because of Ms. "Paparazzi". It can be guaranteed that her mini-concert will be the greatest scene of pandemonium for the festival since Rage Against the Machine performed in 2008—now that was a real riot. We'll have to see the kind of damage Gaga will bring to Chicago. If anything, her audience will look like the biggest gay pride parade there ever was, and will undoubtedly make the frat boys and jock douche bags shake with inferiority because they likely won't understand Gaga and her inflated world of glam-rock and fame is our friend testimonies.
Once word got out that Gaga was in, the comments came flooding online, and most were actually looking forward to her appearance. For some, Gaga's name evoked the hundredth sign of the apocalypse on its way, and Farrell has backed his choice even more by (prematurely defending) to MTV as a quick statement: “Lady Gaga represents to me the music industry today. She’s a good representation of where it’s at and where everybody’s trying to get to. If you look at the Grammys, it looked like everybody was trying to catch up to Lady Gaga,”. Interestingly, on RollingStone.com where they also posted the news of the Lollpalooza artists list, a blurb in the comments section from anonymous "BC" wrote: "it’s pretty sad that Perry is sitting home watching the Grammys to get ideas for lollapalooza. like her not (i don’t), gagas commercial pop music. i’m not hearing the difference between gaga, beyonce, britney… otherwise there are a lot of good acts on the bill".
Should everyone just lighten up? Isn't music supposed to bring the people together, just like Gaga's musical hen-mother Madonna exclaimed? One could easily argue that a majority of the other acts are drippy, I’m so depressed, but so artsy, angsty indie bands.
Both Farrell's and "BC"'s statements are valid, but is Perry really fond of Gaga—or is he just cashing in on our mother monster as well? Both reasons are plausible. The festival’s whole list is a bit more inviting than last year's, which is a contradiction since 2009 was really like a rock festival with its calmer, low-key musicians, but Lollapalooza is great when much of the music there is not necessarily the biggest names in the world, but are already known enough among music fans who can think for themselves.
Lollapalooza doesn't usually care to be a people pleaser, unlike most music "programming" today, yet in connection to Gaga's inclusion, the more famous she got, she began to be included in the sub-genre of pop stars alongside Rihanna and Britney Spears than say Amy Winehouse and M.I.A. (who've both performed at Lollapalooza). Gaga is a legit pop music, which is precisely why her name stands out erratically next to Soundgarden. Yeah, Green Day, another co-headliner this year, are a mainstream act today (even some of their old fans can't tolerate them anymore), their more polished sound, last heard on, 21st Century Breakdown, still remains rooted in punk-rock.
Lollapalooza may have wavered in popular mention just like the grunge era at the time of the festival's rebirth and appearance on MTV back in the day, but many people who know the festival well enough that when they saw Lady Gaga's name in bold, many a face squirmed and a mind pondered "really?", while staring at a poster where other music acts that may never win a Grammy, are still deemed the most popular of under the radar "indie" music.
Gaga is absolutely a star, and even if she was to fall from grace, her time right now is important in music history for the conversations and individuality she inspires. Is she in many ways like Gwen Stefani in that she takes from various influences and convincingly makes them her own, you would think she really was the first to present herself the way she does? Yes...and no. Though admittedly, as big as a star as Our Lady Gaga is, there is something disheartening about the fact that she is co-headliner, but the assertively calm Erykah Badu, though on the list, is not.
So at the end of another day of interesting music news, Lady Gaga is performing at Lollapalooza. A pop act is going to entertain one the biggest audiences she'll encounter, and at a festival that generally takes note of the other side of music that is brilliant and thoughtful, and doesn’t care too much to be noticed by the mass media, though appreciates when they come around. She will surely bring one of the most talked about and even celebrated performances of the festival's run. Even those who aren't fans right now should check her out despite the guaranteed squashed feeling they’ll experience in the crowd—can't be any worse than RATM was, and Ms. "Paparazzi" has the kind of stage charisma even a performing vet could learn from. Looks like Lollapalooza is fully welcoming a new generation of music lovers to the festival, so for all you slightly, older music snobs, you better make way. Lady Gaga fans don't play around.
You really are a “free bitch”, Ms. "Paparazzi".
(long version) original post written with peace, love and hair grease
first photo courtesy of: V magazine
third photo courtesy of: Elle magazine
go to Lollapalooza's official site (http://www.lollapalooza.com/) for all the details on this year's festival at Chicago's Grant Park
VIDEO:
"Acapella" is the first single off Kelis new album, definitely coming to us soon. As the original fantastically weird chick, Kelis is back and sounds as great and ahead of everyone as ever. Check it out.
In Pursuit of Dancefloor Justice: A Bostonian Testimony of a city desperate to let the kids dance and just be free
By Shardae Jobson
If you once observed the evolving underbelly of Boston’s aggressive attempt at a constant appearance of an electro/dance party scene, you probably presumably acted as a slightly inebriated paper doll on a club wall: you mingled now and again with those friendly enough, but you made sure to sometimes to just glance and waver like all the rest against the redundant, clashing beats of the electronic music all up in the club turned watering hole in a city more known for its scholarly, somewhat stoic and classic northeastern ways, than one of fabulously rambunctious young people.
For the last three to four years, Boston has been trying to stay relevant in the dance party circuit. Beantown no longer wants to be the kid sibling tagging along after L.A.; New York City; or even Chicago, where some of the greatest zeitgeist movements in youth culture have already been established as a part of everyday life. Boston wants to be viewed as another prime arena for craziness and style, electro music as the main soundtrack. Though what has yet to be discovered is that such a “come one, come all” free spirit nature is a bit harder to maneuver in a city that is desperate to let go, but can never seem to fully shed its image of well-deserved and reserved confidence. After all, this is also a city that actually operates “underground dinner parties” as discovered by The Boston Globe (geez. Please don’t kill us with a good time! Oh, Boston…)
To the Armani Exchange wearing people who come to Boston’s mainstream clubs, as well as the kids who support the underground house parties, to think that such debauchery would be better equipped in say New York City is a natural thought—but most of us can’t bum-rush to the Big Apple whenever we want; so Beantown party promoters do what they can to ensure happy endings and encouragement towards the party people to be as wild as they want to be. What was cool about this aspect Boston coming from the bottom up is that the progress was well documented for not just those from the beginning, but for others who caught on to doing something different on a sometimes mundane Friday or Saturday night.
Even New York City has had to continue looking for new eccentric characters and other nightlife show-stoppers, as the days of the original club kids are long gone. The monochromatic Misshapes are now regulated for the fashion show after-party crowd, shindigs like Motherfucker abruptly ended a few years ago, and Ruff Club at The Annex ended in September of 2009 (word is, the party apparently did not end until 7AM). Webster Hall has now become the most advertised hotspot for weekend throwdowns in NYC, and the Beatrice Inn was once the pinnacle for watching Gossip Girl wannabes dancing badly and throwing up later. New York City has had to regroup and think again about what it is that brings the people together, and Boston’s been right up there brainstorming, refusing to be ignored and demanding some of the limelight.
If you don’t live in the aforementioned hedonistic cities and love to get it popping, it is almost inevitable to feel at times like you’re missing out on all the fun. You’re left to visit the websites of party photographers (who’ve become local celebrities in their own right) and their massive photo albums of the reckless and almost famous having a good time. You see pictures of them rubbing elbows with the boys and girls, as they collectively believe they are invincibly greater than until the real world pulls them back in the opposite direction come sunrise. Boston’s self-invited inclusion, and re-introduction, as a city of nocturnal amusement in recent years was only a matter of time. The notion was not necessarily a new one and the current generation of party-goers are following the precedent of devil may care behavior of the past that even Boston once exuded (hands in the air if you still long for the days of those old school jams and La Bouche dance hits). It all began when a group of former unknowns in the club circles of Boston began dance nights on their accord, and they have otherwise accomplisheed more than given credit for.
While the titles of some of these nights have ended or all together never gained much momentum (Circus at Privus, Robot Revolution), others have come in their place to continue a kind of counterculture revival that shimmers of an eat, drink, sleep and party lifestyle. Some of this hootenanny in town are known as Throwed, Hearthrob, Paper, Thunderdome, Campus, hip-hop infused nights by Future Classic, Fashionably Late (the swankest of them all) and other intended, stylish nonsense. The captured complacent shots of the young’uns, from the photographer’s professional camera, behind the rainbow slashes of camera’s flash, we see an imprint of an expression that is traditional to what all dance parties of the world seem to share: a feeling of wanting to be alive.
Once the dance party scene began to really heat up in the mid-2000s in NYC and L.A., and even Philadelphia where Diplo and Switch started the near legendary Hollertronix parties, Boston also took charge in their respective neigborhoods and the party people came in droves. For a moment, it was all about Circus (at Privus, which of all places, was held at a sushi joint), earning a very successful run and was nominated for Best Saturday Night but won Best Dinner & Dancing, both by The Weekly Dig. Hearthrob at Central Square’s Middlesex Lounge has had steady loyalty for its biweekly nights and is truest to the roots of punk and dance, while Throwed and Paper are favorites for those who drink underage and have a new place to make this fact more public. The unofficial public headquarters for Boston’s renewed image of fun and loud music once again belonged to Allston, sandwiched between Brookline’s Coolidge Corner and Brighton, and is one of few havens for Boston’s subculture of new millennium beatniks, and college brats and bums (with Harvard Square, Central Square, and Davis Square as, second, third and fourth). It is the neighborhood where some of Boston’s most erratic nights have taken place in regards to these thriving gatherings.
Whatever the party’s name was, wherever it was held, there was a feeling that once you’ve stepped inside the small club (sometimes basement) of these dance parties, you wanted to be seen through the lens of the people who were running the joint (in simple terms) as a cool kid of sorts. While you pretended to care less for their reverence, you too were suddenly in the know of what was bubbling in Boston nightlife and hoped they wouldn’t hate that you were one step closer to achieving true party kid status. As with many dance party scenes, the crowd is eventually the same, so people get to know each other—that is, if they want to get to know you. You find out real fast some people aren’t as quick to welcome you into their enclave. Promoters want people to show up to boost their popularity, and some party people are elated on meeting new ones (even complimenting your shoes or outfit), but the junior high school clique feeling that these parties sometimes bring can be incredibly nauseating. Yet, for every face too conjured in bitchiness to say hello, nice people are met and after seeing your face every damn Saturday night, they may even feel bound to say hi and give you a quick but amiable hug—their way of saying, “You made the right choice tonight”.
By mid-2008, the parties became super popular, and a staple of Boston nightlife, rivaling the likes of clubs next door and around the corner that played Top 40 mash-ups. For those who regularly came, they likely became a bit submerge, and soon notable names from those influential cities made their stops such as Pase Rock; Treasure Fingers; XXXChange; Flosstradamus; and Felix Da Housecat, and the kids ate them up like the hidden ecstasy pills in their pockets. The MSTRKFRT show at The Estate during their Fist of God tour was ecstatic and straight out of The Cobrasnake’s webpage. In 2009, when Steve Aoki was at Underbar, the people acted like they hadn’t moved in months and he made sure to bring his raging, imitation of a rock star on the edge to his DJ set. In Allston, always be sure to trust your conscience when a warehouse party is starting to get a little rowdy, because the cops will it shut down (oh, yeah). An after party held by Circus for The Presets was what techno dreams are made of (drunken people, arguments, a bitch-slap and noise galore). This year, Thunderdome even managed to get the star of raunchy rap music, Spank Rock, to hit up Beantown on appropriately enough, a Valentine’s Day gala.
In Boston, when a big name comes to town, and you look into glistening faces of the crowd underneath the big lights, the young people “dancing” and jiving so out of control, you know they’ve been waiting for that hour and half of absolute greatness to take place. It was worth a great deal to see Beantown as more than just some pseudo corn-fed city always struggling to keep up as shown through the eyes of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. This city could be just as naughty as the next city gone fantastically insane.
By getting through the front door of the newest playground of dance music and asymmetrical haircuts, the insight gained was that Boston club kids wanted to feel important. They want to be their own pop culture. At times it even felt like they were trying to emulate the lives of party goers in the movies and in the real hard streets of cities tougher than Allston; imitating the glory days of James St. James’ former homies (“cocaine fest” was once an overheard comment), and some of these fun loving (somee sexually ambiguous) boys and girls were like lovely slaves to such a capricious life. To the outside it seems they never actually do any “real work”, and a subculture of dance, fashion and small talk will never get old, but maybe the kids of Boston should be given a break. They aren’t all cokeheads. They’re not all that bad. Most of them have the decency to maintain a 9-5. They’re just having fun, not caring about the important things until the alarm clock wakes them up from this fantasy.
From a critical viewpoint, it all seems relative and contradictory. The backdrops of these parties are as dingy as a warehouse or nearly vacant basement apartment could be, or the floors of the club had a patina shine but the brick walls added a touch of toughness to such glamour. Video art is played, with spliced clips of some of the campiest movies of yesteryear, random graphic art and shots of Madonna and Britney (not kissing), Michael Jackson and Tina Turner singing the Mad Max theme. In February 2009, Boston Globe, reporter Danielle Dreilinger chronicled the fashion of the party people, as well as Susan G., a Bostonian fashion blogger. In the article, you can tell that for Dreilinger, a lot of it was new to her, specifically the very outspoken tone of fashion competition. The outfits that adorn these movers and shakers (girls in their big, gaudy heels—the sensible ones wear flats—glam-rock tank tops, loose, hanging shirt-dresses, and winged eyeliner. The guys in a tuxedo or top to bottom black, maybe just jeans, sneakers and a sweatshirts…those La Roux haircuts, both genders quite fond of the skinny pants)…these children had no shame.
Justin “Justincredible” Cameron, one half of RogueWaves and a DJ on his own, informed Dreilinger, the displayed sassy outfits, “[aren’t seen] as weird. They’re all obsessed with being cool”. Futhermore, Dreilinger discovered, “this crowd is comfortable in front of a camera”. She was on point with that one. These kids aren’t shy, and at times even come across a bit vain. Well, I guess you really can’t hate on a crowd too badly if they already believe they are stars.
In Boston, “loving the nightlife “a la Alicia Bridges, is somewhat of a novelty. If you’re bored, even a little lonely, lusting for the feeling of a good time, in the form of dance and being photographed, it’s like you’ve become an unofficial member of a gang. Is it boredom for a kind of balmy excitement that essentially brings these people together, the party people looking for more, or are they just looking for another excuse to let loose?
For a time, it was exciting, and many of us embraced it. To the guy or gal with the professional camera who everybody without question kissed ass to; the annoyingly labeled “hipster” style of some of the kids; the “we like to party” atmosphere, even when it felt a bit polarizing, it was fun. Sure, they were people who laughed and did a “SMH” at these parties (little too frivolous for their liking, and a common question was, “How can you dance to this shit?) These parties got a bad rap when it seemed like everyone could enter, yet only the seasoned ones were recognized. In light of the youth culture pendulum that swings from L.A. to NYC, Boston became the influx of what comes around will dance and shimmy about, but for how long is why sometimes dreams of La La Land and the Big Apple exist and Bostonians still believe in a city that can live up to its glittery promise. The dance party scene of Boston was a part of just living life during such dire times. On the surface, it doesn’t seem that such deep afterthoughts of what the youth desire is present at all. For all we know, some of them could give a damn about tomorrow, just the booming music of resident DJs like Redfoxx; Dominique; B-Rich; and Hot Pink Delereon, and sets by Armand Van Helden who went on to become a big DJ across clubs all over—but they do. By fall of 2009, the original promoters of this scene were aware that certain lines were being snorted elsewhere and dancing shoes were taking over other dancefloors such as The Savant Project in Mission Hill. Maybe some us just began to miss the usual going out shenanigans, suddenly craving to hear the latest hit from so-so in hip-hop, and not another discombobulated remix of MGMT’s “Kids”. It was dying slowly, and maybe headliners seemingly wanted to grow up too. They soon continued dance nights, but under different names, and rooms were filled instead with twenty-something good kids who were not trying to go bad. However, some supporters still craved to surrounded by a “dance. go crazy. hook up. get wild” energy, as is the slogan of the after-hours nightclub RISE.
In February of 2010, Together: The New England Electronic Musical Festival (based in Boston) arrived and succeeded. Das Rascist, DJ Rupture, DJ Funk, Sinden and Udachi all made appearances and the festival was non-judgmental. The new faces of the party people were happy to be at the festival’s many events booty-shaking their tails (yes, sometimes, very badly, bless them), and maybe the name could’ve helped gear towards camaraderie, as while Circus was nothing but chaos, Together was like a more natural rave party from back in the day.
To compare the party kids of Boston to the days of Party Monster club kids is for sure a bit far-fetched as no one is murdering anybody over anything, and even that kind of shimmery debauchery hasn’t been the same. It seems that many in NYC, Boston, in any city, are fending for themselves when looking for a good time. Boston promoters do have many things to be proud of. Boston gave itself a glimpse of a metropolitan city on the verge, but not quite there. There were great idiosyncratic qualities to be found at these dance parties. The more you gave in, the more comfortable you felt, even if you couldn’t brush off the feeling you intruding on an exclusive, downtown microcosm of me, me, me. To which boy or girl that became Boston’s version of Cory Kennedy is still up for debate. I suppose the best way to go about having fun in Boston is to never take it too seriously, since having a sardonic attitude is the plat chaud of this town’s menu.
There are people who are genuine about making Boston more than just a university and overzealous sports fan capital, and for one who used to be at the parties, been photographed, mingle with kids, I salute those that are trying. This why for a time these electro/dance parties were great, and hardly asked for much in return except satisfied dancers and to come again. The young people are just enjoying the extended prime of their youth and I personally won’t hate them for that. I guess we’ll just have to let the kids shimmy and shake, for it’s their right and their city to do so. Party people, wherever you are, don’t leave your eyeliner and confidence at the door.
original post written with peace, love, and hair grease
VIDEO:
"Symphonies (Remix)" by Dan Black featuring Kid Cudi, and when you hear it, yes, that is the instrumental from Rihanna's "Umbrella". The music video is based upon commercial aspects of the movie industry, all of which you'll probably recognize. It's pretty cool.
Leona Lewis’ first album Spirit was a bit of a bore, she was part of a wave of British gals that captured a lot of fans and press in America back when it was released. It is obvious homegirl can sing, and her voice is a throwback to the likes of Dion, Carey and Houston. Her second album Echo is an improvement, and features much needed personality, even as her debut swept the floor selling 7 million worldwide. Displayed on nearly every track, Lewis enjoys singing emotionally driven songs. She’s in her own land, away from over the top pop music, and sings about life as it really is in straightforward, non-Fiona Apple-esque lyrics. Lewis even co-write much of the songs on the album, placing her closer to a Mariah Carey career which is great to see with a voice like hers.
The best song by far on Echo is “Don’t Let Me Down”, a heartbreaking song that while features Justin Timberlake in background vocals, yet his presence is unnoticed as a star cameo, and is instead just a great addition to an already outstanding track. The lyrics display promise of hope and perseverance and are the “I Hope You Dance” of the latter end of the decade, even if Timberlake’s inclusion is as grand as the group Sons of the Desert were on Lee Ann Womack’s hit. “Don’t Let Me Down” is the kind of song that captures the essence of a true talent and feelings, and reminds us why Lewis’ star worldwide is completely irreversible.
Lewis challenges her otherwise angelic voice to other sounds on Echo that are not piano or elegantly stringed based on this disc. On “Outta My Head”, she gears towards being randomly disco and it actually works for her. It is an obvious different vehicle for her, yet neither the lyrics or voice sound pretentious. She’s quite good at this opposite sound, done again on “Fly Here Now”, and she should give herself more credit for.
Lewis is in an interesting position in mainstream pop music as while Susan Boyle is celebrated as the anti-thesis to the Barbie dolls of music, Lewis looks like one and can sing amazingly well, but wasn’t Echo a smash out the box. On an album containing stellar cuts as “Can’t Breathe” which will literally leave those of us who can’t sing in a jealous mode, Lewis as an artist succeeds as a true vocalist. Her work is a spark plug to operatic singing, and while her debut sold 7 million, heavy-ballad music is not often bought in massive numbers like it used to be for the aforementioned singers of Houston and Dion. While other high octave artists like Christina Aguilera have gained worldwide fame, she’s always followed a similar regime like most pop stars of today. Lewis, though adorned in extensions, loves her ballads as a purveyor of love and while carrying a more light-hearted, yet still regal veneer.
A majority of Echo's songs sound like they could be the soundtrack to a romantic film, which isn’t a bad thing. If anything, it would be quite beneficial to the promotion of any film, as shown with “Happy” (which should have been as big as "Bleeding Love"), the first single and soaring background music for the trailer of the crestfallen film “Precious”. There is a resilience on this record that wasn’t necessarily devoid from Spirit, but at the same time was hard to uncover atop the sugary creations. No song can trump Lewis’ voice but most songs were utterly bland, allowing her voice to be used unproductively. Echo excels in in showing us Lewis is the same girl who won The X Factor, but the same girl amplified because there is growth heard on the record, and Lewis has a terrific take on nuances thanks to her brilliant voice. Some more noteworthy moments are heard on"Love Letter" and "My Hands".
For Susan Boyle, surprisingly there was room for the late forties ugly duckling turned swan singer, but for Lewis her work may be more of a hard sell because while her talent is evident, she isn’t a party animal or Janet Jackson wannabe. There is an audience for Lewis’ music with the right selection of singles, and anyone regardless of their preference, knows a good voice when they hear it. The last song “Lost Then Found” ends the album on an aspiring note, with the band OneRepublic joining in. “Lost Then Found” sounds short when in listening, but is affective. The cover of Echo is equally alluring, with a come-hither but deadly stare that Lewis has had much practice perfecting on her magazine shoots for U.K. women magazines (too bad the booklet photos are ridiculously monotone, the only real complaint on the whole package, music and otherwise).
Spirit sold very well because it was the first official outing by the girl that Simon Cowell promoted as an important figure in today’s music. Echo has a lasting appeal because not only does Lewis take part in its creation, she sounds self-assured this time. She's singing from not only the heart but from words she help put on paper. Sing on, Leona.
This album gets: three stars
original post written with peace, love, and hair grease
VIDEO:
"Flash Delirium" is the lead single from MGMT's second album, releasing on April 13, Congratulations. Those BK homies are back "Kids".
Pop R&B’s Most Unpretentious Singer Wants Your Appreciation
reviewed by Shardae Jobson
In contemporary R&B, Amerie is one of the most overlooked and dignified singers of the genre. “1 Thing” is likely to always be her signature song, but Amerie previously and continues to make some really great tracks that her peers would otherwise destroy—and not in a good way. In Love & War is her fourth album, and despite the release of two pulsating tracks (“Why R U” and “Heard ‘Em All”) the singles didn’t garner as much attention as they should have. The thing with Amerie is when she hits the mark, her songs are fantastic. Towards the end of the album, some songs are a bit of a dud, but her latest work further displays her versatility in both vocals and music that don’t exactly come across as random either for this singer.
The opening loud and proud drum beats of “Tell Me U Love Me” sounds like a bonus track off her third release Because I Love It, which is her most consistent album and of course was not released in the U.S. officially. Music execs have proven to us time and time again they don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to their artists. Not only should that album have been available, the duet track from In Love & War, “Pretty Brown”, featuring the It Boy of R&B right now Trey Songz, would have been the perfect first single, and arguably the best one on the album. It is a revision of the song “Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)” by ‘90s group Mint Condition, and does not disappoint in its 2009 rebirth. In a perfect music world, “Pretty Brown” would win a Grammy. The aggressive soprano tone of Amerie with Songz’ smooth, sweet nothings voice is an excellent match in duet heaven and deserves perpetual repeats. This song should be spun in the clubs and have a smoking hot music video to boot. No need for big words or phrases here. This song is the one.
Amerie is keen on consulting the tribulations of being in love. She sings of the flirtation that propels two people to come together and the agony of when all of a sudden, love is nothing that it promised (shown a little livelier but simultaneously darker, like on the track “Higher” with its “Trampled on Foot”-esque guitar riffs). There is a sincerity in her voice that is not as audible in some of the other R&B girls (aside from Keyshia Cole) which gives her a personable appeal, not so solely based on being ostentatious in presentation, but interestingly seems to be her downfall in getting more attention.
“Swag Back” is another brave stand-out, a “broken-heart don’t fit no more” jam, while “More Than Love” featuring Fabolous is breezy but honest. Amerie always comes across as the kind of girl that seethes when underestimated and delivers when she truly lets go as showcased in “Heard ‘Em All”. It’s fast, choreography-tinged, with prove yourself, once and for all lyrics. “Red Eye” is another tune that recalls Because I Love It, specifically the song “Crazy Wonderful”, and is sexy and relaxing.
As an undertone of the album, it seems that Amerie is aware she is not as blown-up as her peers, and In Love & War is her confident reprisal. Her sophomore disc Touch that featured “1 Thing” was her one big hit, and with her latest, she wants to show an industry she’s not another long-haired hottie that could easily grace the cover of a men’s magazine. Even the album’s artwork is taking chances, with watercolor splashes of red, white and black, and freedom poses declaring she’s here. However, what makes Amerie great also doesn’t make a full-length album feel complete at times. Songs like “Dangerous” and “Different People”, though opposite in sound, both feel a little sparse.
Then there’s one of the last songs on the album titled “The Flowers” that may deliver a yawn from a listener. Amerie is best when experimenting with her likeness of old school funk and go-go fun music. She especially shines when she gets her Kelly Clarkson-on and acknowledges she’s wasting tears on an absolute loser—but she’s only human—and instead of trying to save the love, at least wants some answers before she says goodbye, executed so well among the old school hip-hip beats on “Why R U”.
Amerie certainly has the ability to be a bigger star, and maybe with better promotion and a harder push for recognition, as the lyrics she so boastfully sings on the first track: “I’m going to make you love me. I’m going to give you what you never had until you’re always thinking of me”, here’s hoping Amerie is given a chance to glow in a industry that maybe doesn’t understand love or war when it comes to music.
This album gets: three stars and a half
original post written with peace, love and hair grease
Colour Me Free! by Joss Stone is her fourth album and thus far the grandest of her career. Just like Gaga, Stone belongs in a different era, for her, the 1970s soul movement (she even won a Grammy for a Sly Stone remake), but as she is a part the population that is Generation Y, listening to her music in 2010 doesn't make it any less enjoyable. From the first song in, the album doesn't let go of its terrific harmonies that flesh out the personal lyrics.
At only twenty-two years old (damn!), Stone has such an amazingly husky, soprano voice, in return has made her music wiser than her age promises, but there is never a twinge of arrogance. Stone is just telling her stories as they are, and we're all ears with a voice that sensual.
Colour Me Free! was released back in late fall of '09 to little promotion, though it did make the American Billboard Top Ten albums the following week. There had been news that she was having problems with her record label, the usual artist vs. corporation, which of couse included the kind of music she wanted to release. As past instances have showed us, this usually means the music waiting for us, is possibly some of their most accomplished work, such as Fiona Apple's Extradionary Machine, luckily, despite the issues, Colour Me Free! was released, and yes, it is an under the radar treat.
The album is inviting and truthful, and the tracks seamlessly work into each other. The featured artists (Sheila E., Nas, Jeff Beck) don't take away from Stone but add to the luminously steady feel of her work. Her fourth release is the kind of album that really lifts you up and it's not even trying.
The first track "Free Me" is Janis Joplin reincarnated and prepares us for the greatness ahead. "Could Have Been You" is perfect for moving on in relationships but aware that what could have been didn't have to be in the past. This song for some reason recalls a light, rainy day since it's one of the more melancholy songs here. It's like the female perspective of "You're Beautiful". Maybe this was what the ex-girlfriend would have thought that fateful day if she saw James Blunt from the corner of her eye in that metro station.
"4 and 20" is quite lovely, but the track before it, "Lady", is seductively self-aware of the hard place a girl is in when wanting to give into intimacy--but at her own discretion. The beats of this song are very lounge-esque and lyrics are the prelude to a romantic, but very naughty short novel. Stone's voice in comparing "Free Me" and "Lady" goes from wistful to sounding like the personification of coquettish eyelash batting (even at her young woman age). The chorus doesn't even have much lyrics except for "But I'm trying to keep my lady" before and after the ooohs and yeahhs which seem to represent the contemplation of what to do when you want to be the woman that everyone hears roar, but must keep her self-respect in that she's doing what she wants to do. Joss Stone does Women's Liberation right!
Another notable track is "Governmentalist" and while the rap verse by Nas is one of his weakest rhymes recently (just because it sounds like he did it last minute), is persuasive and social commentary for those who aren't knee deep in politics but know what's going on. Stone's voice sounds particulary expressive here.
A review of Colour Me Free! wouldn't be complete without mentioning the beauty of "You Got the Love". Throughout the song, Stone's give off Michael Jackson, which makes the song feel like a B-side, or bonus track from Off the Wall or even a Jacksons album. In light of first anniversary of his death coming this year, this audible reflection is poignant. The track is clearly Gospel inspired and is not cheesy, not overboard, but fantastic.
The song that has brought Stone back a little limelight in the U.S. is the duet "Stalemate" with Jamie Hartman. It's a lovesick jam and it's interesting to hear Stone sing a mid-tempo duet, as she has collaborated with artists before, but not usually in this classic format. Hartman has a kind of scratchy, whiny voice, but eventually his vocals delve right into it. This song was performed with heart on The Wendy Williams Show in March and is another great one off the album.
Overall, Joss Stone is back, even if her return is bit quieter than when Introducing Joss Stone came out in 2007. Let's hope she tours soon for this albums as the cuts here are too good to be missed. Joss Stone has been creating the kind of deep music a twentysomething is definitely capable of, and that Christina Aguilera still thinks she is conveying when she continues to sing stupid lines like "I'm kissing on the boys and the girls" on her new single "Not Myself Tonight". Maybe Aguilera should take note, and stick with songs that really have something to say, as she too has an admirable vocal talent, and sounds better that way. Stone has continued her streak of soul music for the millennium that's both accesible and passionate, and because she is now coloured free, she made one of the most underrated albums of 2009, and a talent to be re-introduced to. Here's hoping it gets more recognition, or at least the fans get a copy real soon.
This album gets: three stars and halfstars
original post written with peace, love and hair grease
Live performance of "Stalemate" with Hartman, and interview, on The Wendy Williams Show
Unlike Horehound, Sea of Cowards is seemingly less constructed which in return makes way for their sophomore album to have a more fluid connection from one song to the next than the debut. Interestingly, each individual's dexterity, including Dean Fertita (of Queens of the Stone Age) and Jack Lawrence (of The Raconteurs) is grandly spotlighted on Cowards, as especially showcased on "Hustle and Cuss".
reviewed by Shardae Jobson
